Road grader



Aug. 24, 1937, w. c. NEFF ET AL ROAD GRADER Filed June '7, 1954 2Sheets-Sheet 1 vynil Aug, 24,1937. w. c. NEFF ET AL 2,090,732

ROAD GRADER Filed June '7, 1934 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 Amos 7.' Workman) Da/e/qnderson) HND George lvo/rrfarzl @MMM-M.

Patented Aug. 24, 1937 UNITED STATES entrar carica ROAD GRADERApplication June 7, 1934, Serial No. 729,400

4 Claims.

Our invention relates to road working machines, particularly of the roadgrader type, and one of the objects of our invention is the provision ofimproved and efficient mechanism for finishing or grading the shouldersat the sides of previously built roadways.

Another object of our invention is the provision of a road grader whichmay be detachably connected to a hauling truck and steered by means ofmechanism connected to the rear wheels of the grader.

A further object of the invention is the provision in a trailer graderof mechanism operable from a single operators station for steering thegrader and adjusting the grading mechanism thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of ground supportingmeans for the front end of a trailer grader when not connected to ahauling vehicle.

More particularly, it is the object of our invention to provide in atrailer grader adapted to be detachably connected to the rear end of ahauling truck, steering mechanism at the rear Y end thereof adapted tocooperate with a moldboard and adjusting mechanism therefor to directmaterial on to or off from the shoulder of a hard-surfaced roadway onwhich the hauling vehicle travels while trailing the grader behind thesame.

@ther objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novelfeatures and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l is an elevational View of a trailer grader embodying ourimprovements;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational View of the combination of a dumping truck withthe trailer grader shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational View, partly in section, of certain detailsof the steering mechanism connected to the rear wheels of the grader;

Y Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of thecombination shown in Fig. 3 when material is being scraped laterally ofa hard-surfaced roadway on to a shoulder at one side thereof; and Y Fig,6 is a diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 5 but illustrating theoperation of scraping material on the shoulder at the side of ahard-surfaced roadway toward the latter.

Referring to' Fig. l, it will be seen that the supporting frame i isupwardly arched intermediate its ends and is downwardly and rearwardlyinclined at 8 for attachment to the transverse crosspiece 9 to the endsof which are pivoted at I l, l the axle brackets II, II for supporting 5by the .rear cross-piece 9A and by the spacedapart cross-pieces I5, I6,I'l, I8 and i9. 15

The cross-piece I9 is U-shaped and between the vertical plates thereofis rigidly secured an auxiliary cross-piece 23 spaced above the lowerhorizontal plate of the cross-piece I9, as shown in Fig. 1. Theauxiliary cross-piece 23 is provided with vertical spaced-apartforwardly extending plates 2I, 2| between which is pivoted by means of abolt 22 the rear end of the machine drawbar 23 to the forward end ofwhich is rigidly' secured the hook 25, the vertical member 26 of 5 whichis adapted to fit into a hole in the plate 21 attached to the rear endof the frame 28 of the dumping truck 29, shown in Fig. 3. A collar 33 onthe vertical member 25 of the hook 25 is adapted to rest on top of theplate 2l, and a Cotter 30 pin 3l at the lower end'of the member 26 maybe relied on to lock the hook 25 to the frame'ZSV of the dumping truckwhile the trailer grader is in operation as illustrated'in either Fig. 5or Fig. 6. 35

At the forward ends of the converging portions lil, I4 of the supportingframe 'I of the machine are attached spaced-apart plates 32, 32 whichare preferably each triangular in shape as shown in Fig. 1 and providedwith a series'of holes 33 40 for receiving a bolt 34 to hold the hook 25at an adjusted elevation relative to the frame l.

Under the supporting frame 1 is a moldboard drawbar 35 which tapers orconverges forwardly.

plate 3l. This spring surrounds the bolt 38 and '55 urges the plate 31against the boss 39. The opening in the plate 31 is of suilicient sizeto permit adjusting movements of the drawbar 35 on the boss 39 onlongitudinal and transverse axes.

Pivotally connected at 4| to the rear end of the drawbar 35 is a circle42 for supporting the scraper blade or moldboard 43 for adjustmentrelative to the drawbar 35 on the upright axis of the pivot 4I. Thecircle 42 and the scraper blade or moldboard 43 rigidly attached theretomay be locked in adjusted position to the drawbar 35 `by means of thelatch mechanism 44.

At the rear end of the drawbar 35 is a trans- Verse angle iron 45 to theends of which are f connected by means of the balland socket joints 46,46 the lower ends of the vertical hangers 41, 41. The upper ends of thehangers 41, 41 are connected by means of the ball and socket joints 48,48 to the rearwardly extending arms 49, 49 of the bell cranks 59, 50which are pivotally mounted on transverse horizontal axes to bracketsone of which is shown in elevation at 5| in Fig. l. Ihe brackets 5I arepreferably located on the tops of the forward ends of the horizontalportions I3 oi the supporting frame 1 immediately above the ends of thecross piece I1. To the upper ends of the vertical arms 52 are pivoted at53, 53 the nuts 64, 54 through which are threaded the screw-threadedinner end portions 55 of the rods 56, 56, the rear and outer ends ofwhich are journaled in the bearings 51, 51.

The nuts 54, 54 are provided with tubular extensions 58, 58 forwardly ofthe pivots 53, 53. The nut 54 is also provided with rearwardly extendingtubular portions 59, 59, the rear ends of which are provided with slidebearings 69 for the rods 56, 56. It will thus be seen that thescrewthreaded portions 55 with the rods 56, 56 are entirely enclosed bythe tubular extensions 55, 55 and 59, 59.

On the rear ends of the rods 56 are collars 6I, 6| and 62, 62 heldinplace by the nuts 63, 63 as shown in Fig. 1 so that the rods 56, 56 mayrotate in the bearings 51, 51 but can not be moved longitudinallytherein. The bearings 51, 51 are pivotally mounted at 64, 64 to theupper ends of brackets 65 mounted on the rear ends of the horizontalportions I3, I3 of the supporting frame 1 adjacent to the cross-pieceI5.

Between the rearwardly extending and downwardly inclined portions', 8 ofthe supporting frame is rigidly secured an operators platform 66 asshown in Figs. l and 2. An operators seat 61 may also be vsecured at 68tothe center of the cross-piece I5 in position to enable the operator toreach either or both of the wheels 69, 69 which are connected to therear ends of the-screw rods 56, 56. It will thus -be seen that thehangers 41, 41 may be individually lifted or lowered by rotating thewheels-69, 69A each of which actuates screw elements cooperating withnut elements `toaswing the bell cranks 59, 59 on their horizontaltransverse axes. The moldboard or scraper may thus be adjusted inelevation and in inclination relative to the surface on which themachine is supported.

Since theforward end of the vdrawbar 35 is pivotally connected on .avertical -axis Ato the U- shaped cross-piece'IS andsincethe-hangers areuniversally connected at their lower ends tothe outer ends ofthe crossbar45 and vuniversally connected at their upper ends to the bell cranks,the rear end of the drawbar .together with the circle and moldboard orscraper may be shifted laterally relatively to the supporting frame 1.

Secured to one end of the cross bar 45 is a vertical plate 19 which isprovided with an opening through which the lower end of the retainingrod 1| extends for pivotal connection to the transverse bar 45. Thelower end of the retaining rod 1I may be retained by means of the Cotterpin 12 in its pivotal connection to the plate 16. The upper end of therod 1I is hooked at 13 to extend through an eye 14 suspended from thetubular bracket 15 which is slidable along the cylindrical cross-pieceI6. The latter is provided with a series oIn vertical holes 16 intowhich is adapted to extend a pin 11 in the tubular bracket 15 to holdthe latter in adjusted position. Consequently, after the rear end of thedrawbar together with the circle and scraper or moldboard carriedthereby have been shifted laterally they may be heldin adjusted positionby means of the retaining rod 1I and the parts connected theretoincluding the pin 11.

It should be understood that when the trailer grader is detachablyhooked to the rear end of a dumping truck, steering of the grader iseffected by movement of the rear wheels I2, I2 on the vertical pivotsI9, I9 while the towing movement of the truck is along straight lines.For this purpose a steering wheel 18 is mounted near the operatorsplatform 66 and near the operators seat 61 and is connected to the axlebrackets l I by the mechanism shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Connected rigidlyto the axle brackets II, II are forward extending arms 19, 19, theforward ends of which are connected by ball and socket joints 69, 89 tothe transverse steering bar 8|. To one end of the transverse steeringbar 8| is connected by means of a universal joint 82 the transversesteering shaft 83, the other end of which is pivoted at 84 as shown inFig. 4 to the lower end of the arm 85 which is pivoted at 86 to a casing81 for supporting the worm gearing 88 comprising the worm 89 meshingwith the segmented worm gear 99. The worm 89 issecured to the steeringrod or post 9|, the lower end of which is mounted in suitable bearingsin the casing 81 and the upper end of which is connected to the steeringwheel 18. The worm gear casing 81 is rigidly secured to one of the sidemembers of the supporting frame 1, as shown in Fig. 2.

When the grader is detached from a hauling vehicle, the front endthereof may be supported` by the foot rest 92 as shown in full lines inFig. 1. The upper end of the foot rest 62 may be pivoted at 93 to thebottom of the U-shaped cross-piece I9.

When the grader'is in operation, the foot rest 92 may be swung to itsdotted line position shown in Fig. 1 and held in such position by meansof a hook 94 extending through a hole in the bottom plate 95 of the footrest. The hook 94 may be connected to a clevis 96 pivotally connected at91 to the bottom of the machine drawbar 23.

The operation of thetrailer grader shown in Figs. l., 2 and 3 isillustrated diagrammatioally in Figs. 5 and 6.

When the front end of the frame 1 is pivotally hooked at 21 to the rearend of the frame 28 of the truck 29 at that corner thereof adjacent theedge 98v of the previously built or hard-surfaced roadway, whiletraveling in the direction of the arrow 99, material may be movedV bymeans of the vmoldooard or scraper 43 laterally of the roadway Yon tothe shoulder located between the lines 9S and |66. During operation ofthe grader to iinish the shoulder at one side of the roadway, the traicon the roadway moving in the direction of the arrow le! need not beinterfered with.

Inasmuch as the inclination of the moldboard or scraper i3 whenoperating as indicated in Fig. 5, tends to swerve the frame l toward thecenter of the roadway, the steering mechanism is so operated as toincline the wheels l2, l2 as indicated in Fig. 5. wheels l2, l2 aretilted in a clockwise direction relative to the longitudinal lines 98and lll to counteract the 'tendency of the operating moldboard to swervethe frame l' in the opposite direction, the resultant movement of themoldboard being in a longitudinal direction along the line 98 while themoldboard is held in its adjusted position relative to the frame l. Thesteering mechanism may also be operated to hold the grader in a trailingposition directly back of the truck so that the dumping mechanism of thelatter may be operated to gradually unload road building materialtherefrom while the scraper or moldboard moves such material 01T theroadway on to the shoulder. This may be followed by another operationsuch as that illustrated in Fig. 5, to spread and grade the materialalong the shoulder between the lines es and me.

When it is desired to scrape material from an outer portion of theshoulder toward a depression at the edge of the roadway, the moldboardor scraper may be adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 6 when thetendency will be for the moldboard to swerve the rear end of the frame laway from the roadway on which the truck 29 travels. Consequently, thesteering mechanism is so operated under these circumstances to tilt therear wheels to travel toward the center line of the roadway. rThat is tosay, the wheels are tilted in such a direction as to counteract theswerving tendency of the moldboard, the resultant movement being alonglines parallel to the edge 98 of the roadway while the moldboard is heldin adjusted position relative to the supporting frame l.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in thedetails and arrangement 5 of parts without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and wetherefore wish not to be restricted to the precise construction hereindisclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of our invention, what wedesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a trailer grader for road shoulders, the combination with avehicle frame comprising up- 5 Wardly arched spaced-apart side membersconverging toward each other at their forward end portions, of a pair ofsteering wheels pivoted on upright axes at the rear end of said frame,an operators station supported by said spaced-apart 0 side members atthe rear end of said frame, a

drawbar flexibly connected to the front end portion of said frame andextending rearwardly under said upwardly arched portion of said frame, acircle pivoted to said drawbar on an upright axis,

holding said circle and said drawbar in adjusted angular relation tosaid frame, a cross-piece between said side members, means connectingsaid drawbar to said cross-piece for holding the draw- 70 bar inadjusted laterally shifted position relative to said frame, mechanismadapted to readily and pivotally connect and readily disconnect thefront end of said frame to one rear corner of a towing M truck, andprevent up or down movement of the 'i front end of said frame relativelyto the truck That is to say, the axles of the a moldboard carried bysaid circle, means for when attached thereto, the said wheels and thesaid connection to the towing vehicle serving as the sole support forthe frame with the moldboard in adjusted position relative thereto, anda pair of moldboard adjusting mechanisms one mounted on one side memberand the other on the other side member and each comprising a hangerconnected to the drawbar and each comprising a wheel operable from saidoperators station.

2. In a trailer road grader, the combination with a vehicle framecomprising spaced-apart upwardly arched side members converging towardeach other at their forward end portions, of steering wheels for therear end of said frame, a readily detachable hook and eye connectionbetween the front end of said frame and one rear corner of a truck topermit the vehicle to have freedom of lateral movement relative to thetruck during travel of the latter, an operators station at the rear endportion of said frame, a drawbar flexibly connected at its front end tothe front end portion of said frame, a moldboard mounted on said drawbarfor angular adjustment relative thereto on an upright axis, the frontend of said frame being solely dependent for its support on such hookand eye connection during operation of the moldboard, means for holdingthe moldboard in adjusted angular position relative to said drawbar,means for holding said drawbar in laterally shifted position relative tosaid frame, separate means mounted on the respective side members andcomprising hangers connected to opposite sides of said drawbar foradjusting the elevation of said moldboard andthe inclination thereoftransversely of the roadway, devices individual to said adjusting meansactuatable from said operators station to effect lifting mechanismconnected to said rear wheels and operable from said station to effectswaying laterally of said frame on its pivotal connection to the towingtruck in accordance with adjustment of the moldboard and so as tomaintain the latter in shoulder operating position along one side of theroadway, while the truck remains on the main portion of the roadway.

3. In a road grader attachment, the combination with a vehicle framecomprising a pair of upwardly arched side members spaced-apart at theirrear ends and converging toward each other at their forward endportions, of a pair of steering wheels pivoted to the rear end of saidframe on upright axes, a towing truck unit, a readily attachable anddetachable pivotal connection on a vertical axis between said vehicleframe and one rear corner of the frame of said truck unit, a drawbarflexibly connected to the front end portion of said frame for lateraland elevated adjustment of the rear end of the drawbar relative to saidframe, a moldboard mounted on said drawbar for adjustment on an uprightaxis relative thereto, the front end of said frame being solelydependent for its support on said pivotal connection tothe truck duringoperation of the moldboard, means for holding the moldboard in adjustedposition relative to said drawbar, means for holding the drawbar andsaid moldboard in laterally adjusted position relative tosaid frame,separate mechanisms respectively mounted on the upwardly arched sidemembers and comprising hangers connected to opposite sides of saiddrawbar for adjusting independently the elevations of the ends of themoldboard, a foot-rest adjustably connected to the forward portion ofsaid frame and swingable to an upright position to support the front endof the frame on the ground when disconnected from the truck, means forsupporting said foot-rest from said frame when the latter is connectedto said truck, the front end of said frame being solely dependent forsupp-ort during operation of the moldboard on said pivotal connection tothe truck, separate wheels for operating the moldboard elevatingmechanisms and located in positions spaced above said side members, anoperators station at the rear end of said frame adjacent to said wheels,steering mechanism connected to said steering wheels, and a wheel withinreach of the operator at the operators station for operating saidsteering mechanism.

4. In an attachment to a truck adapted to cooperate therewith to form aroad shoulder grader, the combination with a Vehicle frame comprisingspaced side members upwardly arched intermediate their ends andconverging toward each other at their forward end portions, an operatorsstation between the spaced-apart rear end portions thereof, a pair ofsteering wheels pivoted on upright axes to rear laterally projecting eX-tensions at the rear end of said frame, means comprising a drawbar and ahook and eye structure for readily and detachably connecting the forwardend of said frame to one rear corner of a truck, a draWbar ilexiblyconnected to the forward end portion of said frame for up and down andlateral adjustment of the rear end of said drawbar under the upwardlyarched portions of said side members, means mounted on said side bar,means for holding the drawbar and moldlo board in laterally shiftedposition relative to said frame, separate wheels spaced above said sidemembers adjacent said operators station and operable to effect liftingor lowering of said hangers independently of each other, steeringzi5mechanism connected to said steering wheels, and a steering wheeladjacent to the operators station and connected to said steeringmechanism, the construction and arrangement being such that when theframe is towed by said truck with "20 the front end of said framesupported by the truck frame the operator at his station may effectsteering of the rear end of the frame onto a shoulder at one side of thepath of travel of the truck for operation of the moldboard on such25shoulder and the operator during such operation may vary the depth andtransverse inclination of the moldboard cut and vary the steeringaccordingly to maintain the mcldboard path of travel along saidshoulder. 30

WAYNE C. NEFF.

AMOS T. WORKMAN. DALE LUPI-IER ANDERSON. GEORGE HOLMAN.

